Attention spans are getting shorter, and it’s basically a curse. While it used to be children and those with ADD and ADHD, now it’s adults too. It’s even something that Dee Agarwal has been giving tips on since the problem has been so bad. So, why are attention spans getting small? It’s primarily due to the consumption of content, especially if you’re going to get a hit of dopamine. Content creation nowadays is pretty short, sometimes as short as 5 seconds.
You have YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram essentially promoting extremely short-form content, plus with the infinite amount of content out there and the quick accessibility to phones, that doesn’t help either. It’s hard to say if this is temporary or if there will be a push for longer-form content. Businesses still need to pay close attention to detail, even if attention spans are shrinking. But for now, businesses and leaders just need to deal with shorter attention spans from themselves, their employees, and their customers/ target audience. So, here’s how leaders can handle this decrease in attention spans.
Try Not To Overdo It
Having an attention span that allows you to focus and concentrate on challenging tasks is vital for your career. Imagine that you are at a meeting with a client or customer, and you cannot seem to keep your mind on the conversation. This could lead to you missing important information and ultimately underperforming on the job. So what can you do? Not just for yourself but even for your employees? Just not overdo it. While yes, you need to force yourself to pay attention, it can get to the point of irritation. The same goes for your employees who may be struggling with it too.
Create a Culture That Prioritizes Rest
While it’s true that short-form content in terms of entertainment is a major reason why people are struggling with short attention spans, it’s technically not the only reason either. Sometimes, the lack of rest gets in the way. Maybe your brain is just overloaded; if hustle culture is a part of your work culture, then you need to scrap that immediately. To improve your attention span, make sure to get enough sleep each night and remove any unnecessary distractions from your work environment.
Additionally, try to avoid multitasking – the brain cannot capably handle multiple tasks at once. Instead, focus on one task at a time, taking breaks between each to recharge and refresh your mind. The same can be said for everyone else too. Just think about it, if everyone is burnt out, having to multitask, and is always tired, they’re going to want to look or do something else in order to get that small hit of dopamine.
Create a Distraction-Free environment
More companies are doing it to that they won’t allow employees to go on unneeded websites (like social media) or even have their phones out. While it is old fashion, sometimes this is what is needed. So if you can, consider creating and implementing rules where there are fewer distractions for everyone around.
